British wool, hand-dyed
McIntosh Yarns sits at the intersection of two things knitters increasingly care about: knowing where the fibre came from, and colour that has been mixed by hand rather than matched to a chart. The Bluefaced Leicester line is accredited as 100% British wool by British Wool, and the FABULOUS range is accredited as a British wool blend. Because every skein is hand-dyed, no two are identical, and that variation is the point rather than a fault.
Why Bluefaced Leicester is different
BFL is a longwool breed with a fine, lustrous, slightly wavy fleece. Spun up, it gives a yarn with more sheen than merino, excellent drape, real strength, and a soft handle that suits garments worn next to the skin. It takes dye beautifully, which is why hand-dyers reach for it so often; colours look deep and slightly luminous rather than flat. It has less bounce than a springy down-breed wool, so it is happiest in shawls, cowls, drapey jumpers and lace rather than in tight ribbing that must grip.
Working with hand-dyed skeins
- Alternate skeins: work two rows from one skein and two from the next throughout a large project, so any difference in dye blends invisibly.
- Wind before you start: skeins need caking. A tangled skein has ended more projects than any difficult stitch pattern.
- Buy the whole quantity at once: hand-dyed batches are small and an exact repeat is rarely possible.
- Choose simple stitch patterns for variegated shades: heavy colour variation fights lace and cables; garter and stocking stitch show it best.
- Swatch for colour as well as tension: a shade can look completely different knitted up from how it looks in the skein.
Tension and project choice
Knit at least 15cm square, wash it as you intend to wash the finished piece, dry it flat and measure the middle. Wool relaxes and blooms after its first wash, so a swatch measured dry off the needles will mislead you. For a first project with a special skein, a shawl or a cowl is the sensible choice: no sizing to get wrong, all the yarn used, and the colour on full display. Garments are best planned once you know how a particular yarn behaves after blocking.
How much to buy
Work from the metres in your pattern rather than the number of skeins, since hand-dyed skeins are not always a standard weight. A cowl or a hat is comfortably a single skein in DK, a shawl is one to two depending on how large you want it, and an adult jumper needs the full garment quantity bought at once. Where a project needs several skeins, ask for them from the same dye batch and still alternate between them as you knit.
Care, and getting the best from the colour
Hand wash in lukewarm water with a wool wash, no agitation and no temperature shock, since untreated British wool will felt if it is rubbed in hot water. Press the water out in a towel, never wring, and dry flat away from direct sunlight, which fades hand-dyed shades faster than daylight indoors. The first wash of a hand-dyed piece may release a little excess dye; rinse until the water runs clear and use a colour catcher if the piece combines pale and saturated shades. Store folded with a cedar ring, since natural untreated wool is attractive to moths.
McIntosh Yarns questions
Is McIntosh yarn British? The Bluefaced Leicester is accredited as 100% British wool by British Wool, and FABULOUS accredits as a British wool blend.
Is it hand-dyed? Yes, all McIntosh Yarns are hand-dyed, so slight variation between skeins is expected.
Can I machine wash it? Treat it as hand wash. Untreated wool felts with heat and agitation.
What should I knit with one skein? A cowl, a hat or a small shawl, where a single hand-dyed skein shows at its best.
How do I avoid stripes between skeins? Alternate two skeins every couple of rows across the whole project.
